He searched my face for a moment before he responded. “I could’ve wanted you dead, killed you before anyone knew anything about it.”
I thought for a second. “I don’t know, Greer. I knew nothing about you, but I guessed I’d rather take a chance with you than with Bollard and Claudette. I think it was worth the risk.” As I said it, Greer pulled his sleeping bag closer to his chin. “Did I make the right choice?” I asked and fought to see his eyes once more through the dark. He was so handsome. I blushed again and quickly turned away before he noticed.
“You didn’t make the easy choice.”
“Then I guess it was right. Easy choices are hardly ever the right ones; at least that is what my mom always says.”
Chapter 28
Bad Clouds
When I woke in the morning, the sun was already in the sky. I shot out of my sleeping bag. “Is the bird still attacking?” I could think of no other reason for us to still be in bed at that late hour.
Greer laughed and lightly placed his hand on my shoulder. “No, he moved on. We don’t have to leave right away. In fact, we’re probably safer waiting a few hours.”
“What?” I wiped the sleep from my eyes.
“If we leave now, we’ll be in Haverhill by eight. Much too early.” Greer looked dressed, but that was deceptive. I had noticed a few days ago that Greer had multiple pairs of the same black shirt and pants in his bag. He wore them at all times, with his black hat/mask in his pocket, always ready just in case. “We want to hit Haverhill at noon, so we don’t have to wait around.”
“Haverhill? What, is that like a town or something?” After the Diddles, I was more than happy to avoid all other people.
“Abandoned. We’re meeting with the Galvantry there.”
This was news to me. I guess I should have assumed we’d eventually have to join them, but I wasn’t expecting today to be the day. I thought about what this hiking would be like with more people. Other people talking to Greer, telling me to put on my sunglasses, other people making phone calls. Other people sleeping in our tent. That would be so crowded.
“Do we have to?” I asked.
“You need extra protection if you are to get up north.”
“North? We’re going north?” I swore we’d gone southeast yesterday.
He handed me a Cloverfield bar. The wrapper said cherry, but that was a lie. The flavor, as always, was chalk. I was getting awful sick of the bars. I unwrapped it and took a bite while Greer read the newspaper on his cubox.
“Congratulations; you’re no longer the headline. You’ve traded with the bottom half,” Greer said. I read the new headline that projected between us: Prince Tristan to Take French Throne. “They finally called off the search for King Lothaire.”
“They thought he was alive?” The news of Lothaire’s plane crash broke a few nights after I disappeared. The guilt of his death hung heavy around my neck. I moved the pendant around the chain out of habit. I didn’t want to think about it.
“Yes, they’d hoped. You met him, didn’t you?”
I nodded. Find the necklace, find the words. If I had never gone looking for it, the king would most surely still be alive.
“In fact, you are the last person to have met with him before his accident,” Greer said, eyeing me from under his eyebrows.
What did he know? Could he know what I saw? I hadn’t mentioned it to him. No one knew what I saw that night or how I got the necklace. Greer knew something about this, but nope. I couldn’t trust him or anyone with this one.
Greer continued. “You met him for lunch, if I’m not mistaken.”
He was referring to the lunch in Boston.
“Yes. I met him with Claudette.” I didn’t want to talk about it, so I rummaged through my bag, looking for a way out of this conversation.
“It’s too bad,” Greer said. “A shame and a loss for the world. Yes?”
Great. I didn’t want to talk about this at all. Finally, I found something that would make it impossible for me to speak and it was the coolest product ever: the teeth cleaner aptly named Plaque Be Gone, a mouthwash that doubled as toothpaste and wash. One swish and my breath stayed minty until bed.
“He was a rather good king as far as kings go.”
Ignoring Greer, I took a swig of the Plaque Be Gone and left the tent. The grass was still wet with dew, and light filtered through the trees. I spit out the Be Gone.
Greer came out with my sunglasses. “You should keep these on.”
I put them on, and Greer gave me a million-dollar smile. He was beautiful. Are men supposed to be beautiful? His face was striking. How many times had this guy saved my life? I’d lost count. I swore every time he saved me he got better looking. Today he was oozing in the ‘I keep saving your life’ afterglow.
I turned away. The fact that I found Greer attractive aggravated me. I wished I didn’t. It only made the situation more irritating.
Greer finished packing up his odds and ends. I sat back on my feet. I realized then that I was holding my necklace again; I didn’t even remember picking it up.
“You should put that necklace away,” Greer said.
“Why? You don’t think the Galvantry would steal it, do you?”
“It belonged to a dead man and yes, they would take it away.” So he knew this was Lothaire’s
